I read an article recently entitled, "Positive news for Realtors in ‘08″ by Bernice Ross, national speaker and CEO of Realestatecoach.com. It was about how great ‘08 will be for Realtors as home prices continue to come down, while interest rates remain low.
Mr. Yun, who is the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), points out several factors that appear to be indicating that 2008 will be a good year as the market settles down after being overcome with "greedy investors" which created the current mortgage crisis. Visit an interesting site here at http://ml-implode.com/. This site points out all the mortgage companies that have closed since 2006.
Rather than just paste the url of the article featuring Mr. Yun's insights, I wanted to highlight a few things he mentioned that I thought may be of interest to buyers.
While media coverage on the real estate market has been nothing but doom and gloom, Yun consistently has pointed out that looking at national trends in real estate is like having a national weather forecast. It just doesn't make sense. Real estate has taken a hit and for buyers going into 2008 appear to be in a good position to purchase property at lower prices.
Additionally, buying real estate allows the owner(s) to benefit from the tax advantages of owning real property. And when you can combine buying real estate at a discount with the overall advantages of owning it, this makes for a great combination, not to mention, being able to acquire mortgages with low fixed interest rates.
"...For those agents who represent reluctant first-time buyers, Yun points to some interesting research from the Federal Reserve. Between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated $4,000 in wealth. In contrast, the average homeowner accumulated $184,400. Furthermore, the typical homeowner holds their property for six years. Within this period of time, NAR's research shows that approximately 97 percent of the homeowners will have a positive equity position after that period of time."
What this means for buyers is that getting in now, is a great time because we're certainly not at the top of the market. Prices have come down quite a bit.
Finally, I thought this quote was very interesting:
"...Bottom line: 2008 represents the best window that buyers will have to find excellent deals with excellent financing...If they wait, prices and interest rates will be higher and the reluctant buyer may be forced out of the market."
I went to a seminar hosted by national speaker, Steve Harney, former owner of National Homefinders. I was one of about only 70 Realtors on Long Island who attended! One of the things he kept saying was, "It's going to be great in ‘08!" I just want to add, "...It's going to be great in ‘08...for buyers!" And I would also add that working with the right real estate agent helps!
(c) Copyright 2007
I sent this out to my buyers who are in limbo. I sent it through my Coldwell Banker Newsletter (looks incredible). Anyhow, within a day, I had all of them logging into their accounts and viewing the market. I just showed a very nice woman 10 homes today and she's psyched! Getting this kind of information to buyers is key in keeping them hungry. It also helps them to understand the true benefits of buying real estate.
:)